The Best Part of Raising Up The Dead
by his loss
Summary: Percy doesn't really get what attracts him to Nico, but he's not going to fight it. He's spent most of his life fighting some monster or other – literally. Having a boyfriend has to be easier than being a demigod. Unless his boyfriend isn't as normal as he thought… [AU] [Percico] Alternating POV
1. Coffee Black

**Disclaimer:** I am not Rick Riordan. I'm not making cash profit on this fic. I don't even know why I started writing it. I'm a writer. One day I walk into the B&N cafe and the guy who makes me my drink smiles at me and I blow it out of proportion so. Fic.

This started on tumblr and there are 5 chapters already but I will only be posting them here weekly (Saturdays). After all five parts are up I will update every other week on Saturdays. Thank you.

* * *

**I. Coffee Black**

Edna's was right across the street from the morgue, which was the main reason I chose it. I punched the crossing signal button and stuffed my hands in my pockets. My hands were always cold. The crossing chime buzzed and chirped out of focus as I walked from curb to curb. The lighting of the coffee shop was what really pulled me in. I hated too much light, and every fixture in Edna's shaded, throwing the place into a crepuscule of shadow. The countertop was polished bronze. Best of all, it was empty. Usually, I hated being the only customer. I preferred being alone in a crowd of people I didn't know then among a group of people who expected me to be present.

The barista wasn't aware of me. That would annoy other people, but I was fine with it. His head was bent over a textbook on his side of the counter – college student – his hair was nearly was messy as mine. I stepped up to the counter and he looked up. I forced my expression to remain stoic. Sure, he was hot. Sharp features, tanned, a barely visible scar. The black shirt he wore couldn't hide a subtly athletic build. I guessed swim team. Green eyes.

"Hey. Can I fix you some coffee?"

I wondered if he greeted everyone like that. With that smile. My hands in my pocket clenched.

"Yeah. Black, with a drop of creamer."

The smile didn't slip. "$3.05." I put a crumpled bill on the counter and dumped the change into the tip jar, which earned me another smile. "Take a seat. I'll bring it out to you."

The omnium-gatherum seating was mostly dark wood. I sat down in one that was almost ebony and nervously twisted the silver skull ring on my finger. When the barista came around, I quickly ducked my head and muttered a thanks. I had planned on taking it to go, but there was still time before my shift. I drank as quickly as I could, allowing myself to glance over at the counter only once. A blonde girl had appeared, laughing softly as she tied up her hair. Something cold stabbed my floating rib.

"Come back soon," the green-eyed barista called after me.

"I'd rather walk the extra block for Starbucks," I muttered under my breath.

* * *

Naturally I returned less than a week later.

"Hey, welcome back. Black coffee, right?"

I gave an affirmative grunt and put money on the counter, waved a vague gesture when he tried to give me the change, and successfully kept my hormones in check when he smiled, putting it all in the tip jar. There were other people there besides me, which actually eased my nerves. A red haired girl wearing a black Edna's shirt sat near the window – on her break or just about to start her shift. Her forearms were freckled with color, fingers busy in a sketchbook. A homeless looking guy sat near the counter, muttering to himself.

"Do you always drink strong at night?" the barista asked, handing me the cup.

"I work late."

He was wearing a nametag, which I must not have noticed before. _**BOB**_, it read in less than subtle capitals. I barely suppressed the urge to laugh. Was that even legit? The slight change in my expression got his attention because he looked down and groaned. "I'm going to kill whichever one of them did this," he swore. "You are my witness. Annabeth! Rachel!" He disappeared behind the counter into the back room. A moment later the blonde girl I'd seen before dashed out laughing. It didn't seem worth it to stay a minute longer.

I dumped what was left of my drink in the garbage outside the building because even though I didn't work in the morgue proper I wasn't allowed to taint the space with food or beverage. I scrubbed my hands raw at the sink and jacked up the heater, resuming the tedious but all important job of digitally backing up the city's entire mortuary records from the past fifty years. Bianca had been the one to find me the job. I liked it because I didn't have to interact with anyone, it paid well, and it was related to an actual goal I'd set after graduating high school early. Since I was a kid I'd been fascinated with death. Mythology, culture, tradition, and eventually, science. My guidance counselors in high school were surprisingly chill about my morbid interests and suggested I try shadowing a medical examiner. Bianca encouraged it, too, buying me several boxed sets of procedural crime dramas.

Filing and imputing data was boring, but every now and then something interesting came up. I'd been asked to sign papers that stated I wouldn't' share any information I read with anyone for good reason. Some of the sealed files were on murders, and a number of them were still unsolved.

I worked until 2 in the morning and walked back to the apartment. Bianca was asleep, but last night's dinner was on the stove, waiting for me. I ate a little, then tried to get some sleep. It hadn't been easy to readjust my patterns, but coffee helped a lot. I pulled the duvet closer, thoughts turning to the guy at Edna's. I had the bizarre feeling that he didn't smile like that at everyone.

Stupid. It was part of his job to be nice. Unbidden, a fantasy unfolded: me, a regular customer at Edna's. I notice that every time I patronize there, the guy – whose name I still don't know – asks my name, makes conversation while fixing my coffee. Our fingers touch when he hands me my cup.

I kicked the duvet away, embarrassed despite the harmlessness in it.

* * *

"What are you doing up?" Bianca yawned, finishing off her braid as she emerged from her room. "It's 5 in the morning, Ni-Ni."

I scowled at my childhood nickname and shrugged, killing another zombie with the flick of my wrist. "I couldn't sleep."

She gave me a sympathetic look. "Have you eaten anything?"

"Not since I got back from work."

She made me pancakes before leaving for class, and I spent the rest of the day trying to convince no one that I was definitely not going to Edna's before work anymore.

My shift started at 9, and by 7 I was already feeling as unwired as I used to back when I was constantly on and off ADHD meds. That was when Bianca and I had been moving from one foster home to the next, every four months, like clockwork. Finally Bianca turned eighteen and went to work. I was only thirteen. If I'd been older I would have quit school, but my sister insisted I keep going until I was legally old enough to work. Instead I studied day and night and graduated early, just to show her I could.

In that time I changed a lot physically. I used to share Bianca's healthy Italian blooded complexion. I spent so much time indoors and so much energy in just my studies that I developed a deathlike pallor. I grew taller, but my posture definitely suffered. Bianca claimed that my eyes were heavier. None of these traits were in any way attractive, and I lacked the ability to put on healthy weight. My limbs were skinny, and any muscle I put on was practically invisible.

I took my jacket out of the hall closet and evaluated my appearance in the mirror over the radiator. Hot barista was _definitely_ not interested. I pulled my shoulders back and did my usual inner strength mantras about not giving a fuck and just owning who I am before walking out the door.

* * *

"Oh! It's you!" the blonde girl acknowledged when I walked in. Her hair was tied up, a pair of dangly silver earrings in the shape of owls framing her face.

"Uh… hi."

"Hold on a sec, I'll get Seaweed Brain out here to make your coffee."

A muted scuffle from behind the kitchen door later, and the green-eyed barista stumbled out. I firmly stomped down the flutter in my chest. Sometime around 4 in the morning I'd decided that he reminded me of the Greek heroes I loved reading about as a kid. Even with messy hair and an apologetic smile.

"You're back!"

I shrugged. "You're right across the street from where I work."

He was already setting up a pot to brew my drink.

"Well, it's nice to have a regular customer." I looked down at my feet. Regular customer. Right. Good for business. "What's your name?"

"Huh?" I supplied eloquently.

He smiled again, soft. "Your name. When you walk in I'd like to be able to greet you properly."

I felt heat rushing up my neck to my face, glad that the lighting would hide it. "Nico." Then, because why the hell not, I glanced at his name tag. Percy. "Is that your name, or did she trick you again?"

He looked down and actually unpinned it from his shirt to examine it. ("Dyslexia. Reading upside down is a bitch.") "_This_ is my name," he assured me.

I realized that I'd been standing there dumbly and went to my usual chair. After Percy brought me my drink, the blonde – "Annabeth", he informed me – came back out of the kitchen. They put their heads together over the open textbook on the counter and whispered over it the whole time I was there, only pausing to serve a small group of college kids coming in to study for a midterm.

"Have a nice night at work, Nico!" Percy called as I headed out. _Gods_, I cringed. Why was I doing this to myself?


	2. Latte Foam

**Disclaimer:** I am not Rick Riordan. I'm not making cash profit on this fic. I don't even know why I started writing it. I'm a writer. One day I walk into the B&N cafe and the guy who makes me my drink smiles at me and I blow it out of proportion so. Fic.

This started on tumblr and there are 5 chapters already but I will only be posting them here weekly (Saturdays). After all five parts are up I will update every other week on Saturdays. Thank you.

* * *

**II. Latte Foam**

"We could just buy a coffee machine, you know," Bianca offered.

I tore my eyes away from the screen. "You don't even _drink_ coffee. It's pointless." Of course she was right. Weekly, I spent $20 at Edna's. It would be much more economical to buy an actual coffee pot.

"I'm buying you one for Christmas," she insisted, and I ignored it because. September.

Since she went to work directly after class, I only saw her for a couple of hours before I went to work Tuesday through Friday. The other days were almost like being part of a real family, minus parents. Saturday mornings we watched old cartoons and ate cereal in a desperate quest to take back our childhood. Sunday she dragged me to church. Monday I was cleaning my room or else. Neither of us mentioned mom. As it was, I barely remembered her.

I waited until it got dark to start walking to Edna's. Friday night proved to be the busiest; there was actually a line at the counter when I walked in.

"Nico," Percy greeted.

I lifted my chin in his general direction and pretended to be interested in the calf tattoo of the guy standing in front of me. Annabeth was working beside Percy again tonight. I wasn't sure what her damage was, but every time I came in and she was alone, she went to fetch him, then left him to do all the work himself. Maybe she was afraid of me. Again, my looks weren't very favorable. She probably thought I was casing the place and planning on stealing from the register. Or she didn't like being around negative energy. When she smiled at me, it didn't reach her eyes.

"I switched shifts witch Rachel," Percy announced as soon as I stepped up to the counter. "I'm off in five minutes."

"… congratulations?" I returned.

"Do you want some company?" he elaborated.

"…sure."

My usual chair was taken, which really shouldn't have upset me so much, but now I had to find seating for two. Thankfully, a small table opened up just as Percy came out from behind the counter. The redhead I'd seen over a week ago – presumably Rachel - took his place. Immediately he started telling me about her and Annabeth and Frank, a guy who worked during the day. He and Frank went to state and the girls went to the university.

"Are you in school?" he asked.

"No." I took a sip. Just the right amount of cream. "I graduated early. Didn't want to go to college right away."

I didn't contribute much to the conversation, but he didn't seem to mind. Mostly he talked about being a marine biology major and how he thought he'd just get to swim with dolphins all day but it was much more complicated. I crossed the street to work with an annoying little spring in my step. It was like I'd made a friend.

* * *

Apparently the shift switch was permanent, because from then, Percy was usually waiting for me, drinking his latte. Annabeth brought me my coffee if it wasn't already waiting.

"So are you two…?" I gestured toward her retreating back a week and a half or so into the new arrangement. He looked around, as though he'd forgotten who had just been standing next to her.

"What? Dating?" They seemed really familiar with each other, intimate in the way you can get away with in public. If Percy wasn't sitting at the table waiting for me he was talking to her, making her laugh. "We did. Why," he smirked, leaning over the table, "…are you interested?" His eyes flicked down to my bottom lip, to my hands, and back up again. "She only dates guys with an IQ higher than hers."

"Is that why she dumped you?"

He laughed. "It was a mutual thing, but yeah. My eyes glaze over when she starts talking about whatever she's studying."

As before, I talked little, but Percy was the kind of person who could easily keep talking. I'd learned a lot of things about him. He worked summers at a camp he used to go to. Like me, he didn't know his dad. He liked blue food. He was – no surprise – a member of the state swim team. And he definitely didn't smile at everyone the way he did me, which kept me up at night sometimes. But we were friends. Percy was friends with just about everyone.

"My shift is about to start," I apologized.

"Are you busy Saturday?" he asked.

"What?"

"Saturday. You. Me." I stared. "Does it bother you that we were just talking about my ex?"

"Are you asking me out? On a date?"

"Yeah." He ran a hand nervously through his hair. "Look, I thought you were into me. This," he gestured vaguely at the table. "I thought this was something."

"…"

"It's cool. Forget it."

"Hey." The blood rushing in my ears finally calmed down. "I didn't say…" I faltered. What. The Hell. "Ask me again."

He smiled. "Nico, will you go out with me on Saturday?"

"Sure. You… want to meet here?"

* * *

On Saturday morning it occurred to me that this might be a joke. I spent most of the day seething, imagining Annabeth and Rachel and Frank (who I hadn't even met) betting Percy he couldn't take some pathetic kid on a date. I debated whether I should just stand him up.

"Aren't you going out soon?" Bianca asked from the couch. I'd told her I was meeting a friend. It was too surreal to say that I had a date.

"Um, yeah," I conceded lamely.

Despite my efforts to prolong the walk to Edna's, I actually got there early. It was different in the day. Natural serotinal light flooded every surface. A tall Asian guy with a football built upper body and a gentle face stood behind the counter. "You must be Nico," he prompted.

"…"

"Percy messaged me before you got here to say he's on his way."

"…"

"I'm Frank, by the way." His smile started to slip.

I heaved a sigh. Interacting with people – especially people who acted familiar with me even though we'd never met – was exhausting. I made an effort when I could, but mostly I counted on my temperament to speak for me. "Did he mention where we're going?"

Frank perked up a little. "If you don't like surprises, I can tell you."

I didn't, actually. I considered trying, but I'd literally filled my quota for the week already. "I don't like surprises."

Frank nodded, obviously expecting it. "He's taking you to the museum." A pause. "He likes you."

I sat down and scowled at the table to hide the mortification heating up my face. People started filtering in, and by the time Percy walked in, I'd managed to adjust my expression back. "Frank told me where we're going."

He smiled. "I told him he could."

"I'm not into surprises," I admitted tightly.

"I'll remember that," he answered softly.

* * *

The museum was crowded, but the kind of crowded that I liked. Percy looked elated when I confessed it to him.

We had both dressed casually, which made it feel less like a date. Although, circumstances didn't call for much other than my most unripped jeans and a clean, dark shirt. I'd never been on a date – not that I'd admit that – so I had no idea what kind of impression I was making. Percy paid for my ticket, but otherwise he talked to me the same as when we sat together at Edna's over my black coffee and his latte.

I started to apologize for being boring, but Percy just shook his head. "I'm going to show you my favorite exhibit."

In all honesty I expected him to take me to the aquarium for a date, his chief interest being oceans, seas, and anything that inhabited them. He seemed to enjoy the museum, but I had no idea what his favorite part could be. Ancient sailboats, maybe.

Instead, we turned a corner, instantly transported to ancient Greece. Armor, weapons, and beautiful pottery filled the huge space.

"I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to this stuff," Percy explained, obviously embarrassed.

I blinked. "Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Me, too."

He stared. "That's awesome."

We spent almost an entire hour circling the exhibit, pausing to pour over details and recall bits of the legends.

"Who's your favorite hero?" I asked as we left. I was shocked to realize that I was holding my head a little higher and I'd been building an actual conversation.

"When I was little it was Hercules, but then I found out what a jerk he was. Since then it's been Odysseus. You?"

I ducked my head. "Persues," I muttered, barely audible. He grinned.

Outside the museum, I looked at my feet awkwardly. "Thanks for today. It was nice."

"It was," he agreed. "So am I worth a second date?"

I looked up at him, analyzing his face. _He likes you_, Frank had insisted. Why? "…okay."

"Next weekend?" he suggested. "Your pick."

"Okay."

He walked me back to Edna's, where Frank was just getting off his shift, being replaced by the girls. They were all Percy's friends. Even his ex. I thought it was pretty rare to be able to keep that up. I only had one friend, but I saw Leo so infrequently lately since he was in school and I wasn't. He would want to know about the date. Walking home, (with Percy's phone number scrawled on a napkin in my pocket) I contemplated calling. I'd never outright told Leo I was interested in guys, but I gathered he knew, since he didn't rib me the way friends do about girls I could be dating, girls that were rumored to be interested in me, etc. Percy had told his friends about me. I wasn't uncomfortable with it, but I hadn't expected it. A guy who openly asked another guy out after being in a steady relationship with a girl seemed impossible.

_So I had my first date tonight_, I settled on messaging Leo.

Less than a minute later, I got a response. _Ni-Ni's first date! Sweet! Details?_

I composed the next message with care. _His name is Percy._

"Ni-Ni," Bianca knocked gently on my door a few days later. "There's breakfast on the table. Did you want to go to Frightmare on Saturday? I need to buy the tickets by tomorrow."

I groaned, sitting up in bed. "Um… I was going to go with a friend. I'll go with you on Sunday if you want."

"Oh, Leo?"

I stiffened. "…a new friend."

"That's great, Ni-Ni." She laughed softly. "You're old enough now I can tell you I don't actually like it there. You go have fun."

I waited until I heard her leave for class and wandered out. She'd made bacon and goat cheese polenta for breakfast, one of my favorites. I felt a stab of guilt for choosing Percy over her. Frightmare was our Halloween tradition. I hope she really meant it when she implied that she only went because I liked it.

"Don't tell me where we're going," Percy made me promise. "I can do surprises."

"Alright, just… dress warmly. It's an outdoor thing."

On my way to Edna's, I bought the tickets. I'd have to ask Bianca to borrow the car, even though I hated driving. We lived in a city where most things were in walking distance, and I took a bus if I had to go farther. The car was for when we wanted to leave the city, which was rare. Bianca didn't even use it for work or class unless she was running late. I was lucky that we'd never been pulled apart in all the years we were passed from foster home to foster home. Our lawyer had been adamant that we stay together since we were each other's only family. In a strange way, I considered him part of our family, even though I hadn't seen him since I was twelve.


	3. Cappuccino

**Disclaimer:** I am not Rick Riordan. I'm not making cash profit on this fic. I don't even know why I started writing it. I'm a writer. One day I walk into the B&N cafe and the guy who makes me my drink smiles at me and I blow it out of proportion so. Fic.

This started on tumblr and there are 5 chapters already but I will only be posting them here weekly (Saturdays). After all five parts are up I will update every other week on Saturdays. Thank you.

* * *

I almost forgot it was Saturday I literally studied for 3 hours straight. I studied more tonight than I did the entire of last semester.

* * *

*Frightmare Farms is a real place, but I changed some details.

* * *

**III. Cappuccino**

I drummed my fingers on the countertop. I wasn't nervous. At all. I'd gotten over that a few weeks ago when I bit the bullet and asked Nico out. The thing was, I'd trained every summer to tone down my ADHD, to cope with moments of restlessness. Working at the coffee shop was supposed to help, and most days it did. But the Nico thing was really testing me. I wasn't completely sure what I was doing, honestly. It started with just wanting to see him. I'd literally called dibs to be his barista whenever he walked in.

That evolved to wanting to talk to him.

It was hard to pinpoint what exactly attracted me to Nico; usually it was much more straightforward. Maybe that was it.

He didn't talk much, but his silences weren't uncomfortable. We liked a lot of the same things. That was all I understood clearly. He had little patterns of movement that were… endearing. And yes, I wanted to touch him. I just didn't know what would happen when I did. I was almost afraid of it. What if I didn't feel anything?

"Earth to Seaweed Brain," Annabeth's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Hey," I murmured lamely. We'd broken up over a year ago, but sometimes the wound reopened. A lot of the time I felt like we were on the brink of a reconciliation. She had a way of looking at me that meant she knew exactly what I was thinking. When we were together I'd loved it.

"You can go ahead and clock out. He'll be here any minute."

"Thanks."

I avoided her eyes, ducking into the kitchen to change shirts and put on my jacket. I had an idea of where we were going, but decided to let Nico think he'd surprised me. Unless I was wrong. But I probably wasn't. It was the last Saturday before Halloween and one of the first things I learned about him was his interest in death culture.

He came to pick me up at exactly at the time he said he would, driving a small dark sedan. "It's my sister's, primarily," he explained. "I don't really like driving, but we're going a little out of town. Is that okay?"

"It's fine."

"Do you want to guess where we're going, or do you already know?" he asked fifteen minutes later.

"My money's on Frightmare."

He nodded, pulling tickets out of his jacket pocket. "I go every year."

"I've actually never been."

"You're kidding," he deadpanned.

"I always mean to, but something comes up…" I shrugged. He favored me with the first actual smile I'd seen him put on.

"We're doing _everything_."

I laughed. "Okay."

* * *

Frightmare Farms is a regular old corn field and dairy the rest of the year. It's pretty spooky because you have to drive nearly an hour out of town on country roads to get there, and as you get closer, the only light you get is the light from your headlights. And it's a huge place, once you pull up. An iron arch was set up between the barn and the stable. "Welcome to Your Nightmare", it read. I got Nico to take my picture with it. He rolled his eyes at my enthusiasm but sent it to himself from my phone.

"Do I get a picture of you?"

He actually blushed. "When we get out of the haunted house," he promised.

The main attraction was the haunted hay ride, but there was also a haunted house, a corn maze and some carnival type things. Nico paid for the big three and we immediately went to line up for the hay ride. "It gets packed fast, and sometimes they'll take a long break," Nico muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Early on, he'd told me that they were always cold. I bit my lip anxiously, wanting to ask. But he'd also mentioned he didn't like being touched by people he barely knew. I wanted to contest that we'd known each other for a while before I asked him out, but I had the feeling that by adding _that_ dynamic, I'd set myself up for a longer wait. Still, it was hard. I wanted to hold hands, maybe run my fingers through his hair and _hold_ him, just to see if I liked it.

We got loaded onto the back section of the tractor bed, which Nico assured me was the best place to sit anyway. As the ride started, it was clear that I'd been missing out. The actors were really good, especially the ones that would walk behind the cart for a few minutes, disappear, and then reappear ahead of us. They probably practiced navigating through the corn field in the dark. Somewhere in the middle of the ride, I caught a strange smell coming from the front of the cart. If anyone else smelled it, they probably thought we were riding with a chain smoker, but I knew better.

"Did you lose something?" Nico whispered.

"Just making sure I have my pen on me," I replied, patting my jacket pockets until I found it.

He stared at me. "…okay."

"I get a little neurotic if certain things aren't in place," I defended myself.

"Okay," he repeated, somewhat more pacified.

The smell was definitely coming from one of the women sitting near the driver. There were four of them, but the smell wasn't' that strong. The others probably didn't even know. They were all dressed similarly, frizzed hair, too much eye makeup, black clothes. I coughed once. Again, hiding a barely audible word in it. The one in the middle, wearing dangly black earrings in the shape of talons flinched. Great.

"Percy?"

"Sorry. Might be my allergies," I lied.

We got some hot cider as soon as the ride was over, then headed to the haunted house. The line was nearly as long as the one for the hay ride, but it was moving a lot faster. About ten people got to go in at a time, and each group only had to wait fifteen minutes for their turn.

"The hallways inside are narrow," Nico warned. He seemed to hesitate, then added, "We could hold hands." He looked away quickly. "But we don't have to."

"I want to," I confessed, interlocking our fingers. He tensed briefly, then relaxed.

"It's not our turn yet."

I traced a light pattern on the outside of his palm and didn't answer, relieved that it actually felt nice. Gradually he returned the pressure, gently squeezing.

"People are staring," he murmured as we approached the front of the line.

"Do you care?"

He lifted his chin, adjusting the few inches of height difference. "No."

I smiled. "Good."

His hands were cold, as he'd mentioned before, but I didn't mind. He kept his head ducked as our group waited our turn, staring as though his own hand was foreign to him. I wanted to laugh at his expression, but thought he would take offense. It was brave of him. He definitely didn't need protecting from a lot of things. And yet. I looked around. The smell had faded somewhat. I was pretty sure we'd be safe in the house, but I'd have to confront it soon. But first I had to make sure Nico would be out of the way.

"Percy?" he prompted again.

"I thought I saw someone I know," I volunteered, thankful that the excuse sounded plausible.

The house was, at least for me, scarier than the hay ride. The actors could actually touch you if they wanted, for one, and being in dark narrow spaces was not my favorite thing. Outside, there was a small picnic area, lit all over with jack-o-lanterns. Nico pointed to a few hay bales surrounded by pumpkins the size of tractor wheels. "Bianca makes me sit there every year for a picture." He sat down, picking at the hay. "Even though she didn't come, she'd want a picture. She's like that." I used his phone to capture it and sent it to myself, then to Bianca.

"I haven't exactly told her about you," he admitted as we wandered over to the corn maze entrance. "I told her you were a new friend."

"That's okay," I assured him.

* * *

The smell was growing stronger.

Understandably, there was no line for the corn maze. Little kids got maps that they were supposed to use to reach checkpoints. If they put a stamp at every checkpoint they got a prize.

"The prize is a pumpkin," Nico informed me. "The first year Bianca brought me I was thirteen but she made me do it. We took it home and carved it, even though we couldn't light it anywhere in the apartment building."

"She's your only family?"

He nodded. "Sorry if I keep bringing her up."

"She sounds amazing," I observed.

"She is."

We'd reached an area of the maze where we were pretty much alone, and the smell was so strong I could practically taste it. And it was disgusting.

"It's probably the cows," Nico grumbled.

"What?"

"The smell," he offered.

"You can smell that?"

"It's kind of hard to ignore. Let's go that way," he gestured to the left, from where I could hear other people. In the opposite direction of the smell.

"You go ahead. I… is there a bathroom in here?"

"I'm pretty sure we just passed a portable one…" he muttered suspiciously. "I can just wait here."

I looked around and spotted a post with something attached to it. "There," I pointed. "The stamp. I'll be right back."

"…okay."

As soon as his back was turned I made for the corn, ducking in as quietly as the dried stalks would allow. I wasn't sure if I should be concerned about him being able to smell what I could, but it was probably too potent. Some smells were.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my pen, finger poised to flip the cap open. To my left I heard rustling and hissing. I was at a definite disadvantage if I didn't find her fast enough. Carefully, I shifted between rows, opening my ears. I caught movement and quickly uncapped my pen, parrying the attack, knocking down a cluster of plants. The thing vanished into the stalks again, but not before I saw what I was dealing with. Empousa. Shit.

I stood in the middle of the clearing, lifting the bronze sword. A thin sliver of ichor soaked the tip. Good. If I was lucky, I'd hit a vital.

* * *

Almost twenty minutes later, I stumbled back onto a clear path. My jacket was gone and my shirt was ripped, tainted with blood that thankfully was not my own. It had been a quick fight, but I'd lost the most time trying to get back to the stamp. Nico was gone. He probably thought I'd ditched him. My phone had no signal, so I couldn't call, but I wandered toward the maze exit, hoping he was waiting for me.

Several kids were standing around a big stack of hay bales, picking out their prizes. I tried to imagine a sullen thirteen year old Nico, his big sister enthusiastically urging him to choose a pumpkin.

"Percy!" He came charging at me. "You left me for almost half an hour," he seethed. "I thought you got lost, so I backtracked and – wait. What _happened_ to you?"

I looked down at myself and tried to remember a believable way to explain this. "I… got lost. In the corn. And ripped my shirt."

"Is that paint?" he asked.

"Probably?" I suggested. Sometimes the best thing to do was act as confused as the other person.

He sighed. "Well, lucky for you they sell shirts here." He took off his jacket and handed it to me.

"You'll be cold," I insisted.

"I don't actually get cold. I mean, my skin gets cold, but I don't feel it."

I bought a shirt with "Welcome to Your Nightmare" written on it, which made Nico almost smile. I peeled off my shirt and threw it into the garbage, not missing the way he watched me.

"What's with the pen, anyway?" he drawled. I was still clutching it in my hand.

"Just a habit."

* * *

The ride back into town was mostly quiet.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you," he apologized. "I didn't know where you were and I panicked."

"You had the right to be angry."

His hands tightened on the steering wheel. "I thought you ditched me."

I nodded. "I was worried you might. I was trying to get back to you as fast as I could – "

"Percy." He pulled the car over about a block from Edna's. "When I came to pick you up earlier, I… I walked in on Rachel and Annabeth talking about me. They said… you're experimenting with me."

"No."

He looked straight ahead. "Are you sure?"

Honestly, it wasn't entirely untrue. But it wasn't true in the sense that he thought. I just didn't know how to explain it. So I braced myself. "You're not the first guy I've liked. You're the first I've gone on a date with."

His features softened. "Two dates."

"Going on three," I added.

"I just… I still don't get why you like me," he mused.

After we agreed to go on another date next weekend, he left me at Edna's. Annabeth was at the counter, cashing out the register. As much as I wanted to confront her about what Nico overheard, there was something just as important I needed to talk to her about.

"Call Grover," I advised her. "We've got a problem."


	4. Grape Soda

**Disclaimer:** I am not Rick Riordan. I'm not making cash profit on this fic. I don't even know why I started writing it. I'm a writer. One day I walk into the B&N cafe and the guy who makes me my drink smiles at me and I blow it out of proportion so. Fic.

* * *

OH GODS I AM SO SORRY. THIS WEEK I TOOK A LOOK AT THIS AND REALIZED I COMPLETELY SKIPPED A CHAPTER AND LEFT OUT A CRUCIAL PART AT THE END OF THIS ONE. PLEASE REREAD THIS CHAPTER.

* * *

**IV. Grape Soda**

"Can we talk about the _actual_ reason I called this meeting?" I hissed.

It was just after closing on Monday night, and we were all squeezed into the small lounge area in the kitchen. Rachel was trying to tune everyone out, Tyson was sitting on the floor, Piper and Annabeth were arguing about something, and Grover was looking through my phone, reading my texts to Nico out loud.

" '_I've been thinking about you all day'_? Seriously, Perce?"

I snatched my phone back from them. "In case you forgot, we have gathered here to discuss a _monster_ situation."

"You handled it, though," Piper spoke up.

"Empousai usually travel in groups," I added. "And I fought off one. Am I the only one who thinks that's weird?"

"Did you recognize her?" Grover suggested, scratching at his head until his knit cap loosened enough to let his horns breathe. "Didn't you waste a few your first year at camp?"

"It was too dark, and anyway, she didn't go into that whole, '_Now I will have my revenge, Son of Poseidon_' spiel."

Tyson raised his hand. "Maybe it was just a warning?"

I nodded. At least my brother was on the same page as me. "That's what I thought. But for what? Rachel?"

She frowned. "I'm getting nothing." Opening her eyes, she looked my brother in his. "Can you ask Ella?"

Tyson blushed. "I'll ask."

"Good!" Piper interjected. "Now that we've taken care of that, my Daughter of Aphrodite senses are tingling, Percy. When are you going to ask Nico to officially be your boyfriend?"

Annabeth smirked. "Seaweed Brain is too chicken of the sea to bring it up even though they've been out twice and have a date scheduled for Saturday. It's like their date night."

"Shut up," I grumbled.

"It's cute," Jason defended. "Nico's a good kid."

"You talked to him once," I reminded him.

He shrugged. "Which was enough to ascertain that he's a good kid."

"Was here there when you went demigod?" Annabeth asked.

"No."

"If you're going to keep seeing him, he might be in danger, Percy."

* * *

I'd thought of that, of course. But things had been pretty quiet as of late. At least for the past two years, anyway. It hadn't been a problem with Annabeth, obviously. She was always right there, breaking down battle strategies and peppering them with facts about whatever I was fighting, me taxing every bit of energy to protect her or protect someone. That was my life.

It never occurred to me that I could be with someone who I didn't have to protect. I didn't even want to. Nico was shorter than me and a couple of years younger, but he wasn't vulnerable at all. It's like he woke up every morning expecting a fight, and if it didn't come he wasn't affected.

I had been thinking of him all day, and I'd managed to solidify things. Nico probably thought he was out of my league, but he kept putting himself out there. He valued things.

What would change if he found out the truth about me?

_Me, too._

I scrolled through the short conversation, smiling. When I got back to my dorm, my phone chimed.

_My sister wants to meet you._

_Did you tell her?_

_I don't like keeping stuff from her._

_How did she react?_

_Better than I expected._ I laughed. His one fault was being too pessimist a thinker. _You could meet her on Saturday, pick me up at the apartment._

I hesitated. Three dates. Maybe Piper was on to something. If I thought about it hard enough, Nico wasn't the type of person who would be okay with our relationship status being implied. _That sounds perfect._

* * *

"So how are you going to ask him?"

"Again. You met him _once_, Jason. Why are you so invested in my relationship?"

He shrugged, shaking two cups of coffee beans into the grinder. "I'm dating an Aphrodite girl. Relationship talk comes up a lot."

"I was thinking of asking his sister first. I'm meeting her this weekend."

He gave a low whistle. "Nice."

My shift was nearly over, so I'd asked Jason to make our drinks. I looked forward to spending that time with him before he started work. I asked if he'd seen the corpses before and he'd confided that he had. His fascination with death wasn't creepy It was like he had a thorough respect for the process of life, and death was the natural end. Death is the one thing we all have in common. Of course, I couldn't explain my knowledge of that with him. There were a lot of experiences I couldn't share with him. That was the real reason I was nervous about establishing what we were. He didn't like secrets.

"Your angel is here," Jason nudged me out of my thoughts. I glared at him, annoyed that Frank had told everyone that I referred to Nico that way. I clocked out and undid my apron, taking our drinks from the counter.

"Does this actually help you stay awake?"

"Among other things," he replied, taking the first sip.

"Like?"

"…wondering why you like me."

I drank from my own cup slowly. "Does it matter?"

"Yeah."

The shop was pretty empty, so I risked putting my hand over his on the table. "I'm not sure how to explain it", I started, "… you value things. Things like touch. People take this for granted." I squeezed his hand lightly. "Stuff like this has meaning for you, which makes it more special for me." He squeezed back. "You're cautious. And brave, all at once."

"I'm not."

"Be honest," I pleaded. "What did you think when I first asked you out?"

He started to pull his hand away, but I held fast. "I thought it was a joke."

"But you gave me a chance."

He relaxed. "I thought you were hot, okay?"

I laughed. "Go ask Jason what I call you when you're not around."

"_Angel_," Jason supplied, having been cleaning tables near enough to eavesdrop.

Nico did pull his hand away then, embarrassed. "That's stupid." I laughed again.

"You like it." He didn't disagree.

* * *

My phone rang at 1:41in the morning. "…hey," I answered quietly, not wanting to wake my roommate.

"Brother."

"What's up, Ty? Did you talk to Ella?"

"I don't think there's a prophecy for this."

" – But he's calling because we've got another situation," Grover's voice cut in. "We're tracking something. It's heading toward Edna's."

"And the morgue," I whispered. "Nico's shift is over in twenty minutes."

"Frank is coming to pick you up now."

Quickly, I pulled on the first pair of jeans I found on the floor, put on my shoes, and grabbed a blue hoodie sweatshirt that probably wasn't mine, tucking my pen into the front pocket. Frank was already waiting outside the gate, a sports bag big enough for a pair of skiis poking out of the back window.

"Grover thinks it's a fury."

"Great." I secured my seatbelt.

We pulled up behind Edna's, where Tyson was carefully carrying an armful of Greek fire jars. "Nothing strange this time," he announced. "There's definitely three."

"Go to the morgue and make sure Nico is safe," Frank urged me. "Grover is working on flushing them out. Then Tyson and I will handle them."

I bolted across the street just as a figure emerged from the building. I tackled him as harmlessly as I could, crossing the threshold into the building. Without hesitation, he lowered his stance and flipped me over, planting his knees on my chest.

"Percy!" he scrambled to get off of me and I gasped for air.

"Good to know you can defend yourself," I wheezed.

"What are you doing here?"

"I… came to walk you home."

"It's 2 in the morning."

"So?"

He frowned. "You have to know how suspicious this looks."

"The thought crossed my mind."

"You're serious about this."

"The streets of New York are dangerous," I intoned solemnly.

He actually laughed. "Whatever. Might as well show you where you'll be picking me up Saturday."

"That's another good excuse," I murmured, taking his hand. "…why do you like me?" I wanted to know, but I also wanted to stall him. The others needed at least ten minutes head start to lure the furies away from our general location.

"Not because you're an insomniac who apparently stalks me," he snorted, looking down at our interlocked fingers. "You don't judge people. You make people feel safe… and worthy."

"Plus I'm hot."

"Cocky."

"Before we go, can you show me around?"

"Only if we make it quick. I'm getting tired."

He led me down the hallway to the row of small offices. "I share this one with the junior M.E.," he pointed at his desk, where several boxes of files sat neatly. He showed me the examination rooms and the cold locker where a few bodied were waiting to be transported. "And that concludes the tour."

"It's pretty cool."

* * *

We walked briskly up the street, in the opposite direction of where the furies were being cornered and hopefully being burned to dust.

Nico's apartment complex was fairly big. "Our lawyer made sure Bianca got access to everything mom left her when she turned eighteen. She put part of it aside, but mostly we pay rent here because it was the safest place she could find. I already put you on the guest list for Saturday, so bring ID and you'll get an escort up."

I nodded. "Noted."

He opened the gate, then closed it. "Why do you call me Angel?"

I shrugged. "The first time I saw you, I just got the impression."

"I thought you looked like a Greek hero," he mused. My heart stopped.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

I stared at him for a long moment. "Good night, Angel."

He looked up at me, eyes impossibly dark. "_Caro_," he murmured an instant before he laced his fingers at the nape of my neck and pulled me forward.

I responded immediately. The kiss was desperate, and I realized with a jolt that _this_ was what I'd been waiting for. To be _wanted_. My eyes fluttered closed and I tilted my head a little, thrilled that he didn't hesitate to match me. I pulled at his jacket with one hand and found his hair with the other, knotting thick locks around my bruised knuckles, smiling into the kiss when he gasped. For once, his hands were warm. All of him was.

When he finally pulled away, he was shaking.

"What did you call me?"

"It's… a term of endearment. In Italian. Sorry for jumping you like that." He was flustered.

"I liked it."

"That was my first kiss. Ever," he admitted, more to himself than to me.

"Can I be your first boyfriend?" I asked without thinking.

He blinked. "Did you hear what you just said?"

"I was going to ask your sister permission first," I continued, "But after that…"

"O-okay," he stammered, dipping his fingers down the back of my sweatshirt. A low moan escaped my throat.

"_Ti voglio bene_," he said against my lips.

"Are you going to tell me what any of that means?"

He kissed me in response, as passionately as the first. I pulled him tightly against me, relief flooding my body. He was definitely stronger than I gave him credit for, but we didn't know what was up with the monsters, and if they could take a random casualty, they would.

"Goodnight," I repeated.

* * *

I watched him until he was safely in the building.

* * *

"So. You're not going to like this," Frank warned when he picked me up. "The Empousa might have been a warning, but we got something out of the Furies." He took a deep breath. "They're tracking a demigod. A powerful one."

"Who, me?"

"A child of Hades."

* * *

I couldn't sleep at all that night. To calm myself, I thought about Nico. I I'd only dated a few other people before him, but our first kisses had never been like that. None of them had. Nico kissed me like I was the only person he ever wanted to kiss. I picked up my phone and opened the translation app, struggling to remember what he had said. "Caro" meant "dearest". I couldn't remember the other thing he'd said, so I opened up my conversation and typed out a message before I tried sleeping again.

* * *

Saturday came without any more monster interruptions. I made more of an effort to comb my hair before heading to Nico's apartment. We were going for a walk through Central Park.

The security escort checked my ID, searched me, and got my signature digitally scanned before leading me up to the fourth floor of the south complex. Bianca was protective of her brother., which didn't calm my nerves.

"It's nice to meet you, Percy," she exclaimed, opening the door and dismissing the escort. "Nico's in his room, he'll be out in a minute. Sit down."

I complied readily.

"Nico says you've known each other for a few months already."

"We've only just started dating."

"But the other night you made things official."

I paled. "He told you?"

"Are you serious about my brother?"

I swallowed, having prepared for this question. "I care about Nico. I don't know what will happen in the future, but right now I am completely serious about our relationship."

Bianca had more Italian blood than Nico, olive skin and proud features. Only their eyes were the same. "Nico can take care of himself if you ever hurt him." she warned. "So I won't make any threats. Instead… thank you." She looked down at her hands. "We didn't have the easiest childhood, and it was especially hard on him. Since meeting you, he's been more… present, I guess."

* * *

We set out early for the park, so it was only 1 when we started to walk to Edna's.

"I like your sister," I insisted as we waited at the cross walk.

He gave me a wary look. "You don't have to. She can be protective. Sometimes, I just want her to have her own life, you know? At least she decided not to stay home today."

Before we'd left for our date, Bianca had finished brushing her hair and gathered it under a green cap, telling Ni-Ni – I wisely didn't laugh about the nickname – that she would be going to the public library for an event, and then out to dinner with some coworkers. "I'll call you if I'm going to be late," she'd promised before leaving us alone.

The park had been crowded with people celebrating All Soul's Day, which Nico loved. I snuck a few pictures of him and bought us each a sugar skull. Mine was decorated mostly in blue. It had been Nico's idea to get coffee afterward, but I was anticipating a lot of attention from whoever was on shift. I didn't want to make a huge announcement about him agreeing to be my boyfriend, but Piper managed to charm it out of me without even trying. I considered buying sugar skulls for everyone just to distract them, but decided I didn't have enough money for that.

Thankfully, Jason wasn't working when we walked in. But Grover _was_ there, his crutches in his lap, reading the newspaper.

"Hey, Percy's boyfriend! I'm Percy's best friend," he greeted.

Nico returned the formality with slightly less enthusiasm.

"Allow me to treat the happy couple to some hot beverages," Grover continued.

Nico looked to me for approval, and I couldn't think of a reason to refuse.

* * *

We ate dinner at the pizza place closest to Nico's apartment. It was a small, warm place and the food was inexpensive and good.

"Bianca and I order from here all the time."

The owners certainly seemed to know him well, and while Nico didn't formally introduce me, no one said a word when we held hands over the table. Quietly, he told me that he'd eavesdropped on my conversation with his sister. He agreed with me that the future was an ambiguous concept. "Besides," he added, "we've only just begun to live." He liked to say things like that, vague references to death.

The apartment complex wasn't too far away, but two blocks from the restaurant a huge scene disrupted the flow of traffic and even cut off part of the sidewalk. A fire engine came wailing down the opposite intersection, and three ambulances were already crowded around the source of the disturbance. A city bus had collided with a semi-truck and skidded until it crashed into a store window, laying on it's side. The truck's cargo unit had caved in and the front wheels were all flattened. Two police cars were stationed behind it.

Out of the bus paramedics were frantically dragging bodies, hoisting them onto stretchers.

The worst part was definitely the amount of people that showed up to watch. I could feel Nico seething and knew he wanted to get away as soon as possible.

"We'll have to go the long way," I soothed him. "I'll call a taxi."

And then he was rushing forward, ripping the yellow tape that made a barrier around the bus. The next body being lifted out was a young woman, and as the paramedics strapped her to the stretcher her green cap fell to the ground. I ran to his side and tried to pull him away in case it was too traumatic to look at, but he fought me.

"That's my sister!" he shouted, running to the ambulance. Suddenly, with the tape broken, hordes of people rushed in, some of them letting out cries of joy or anguish.

The paramedics couldn't calm Nico down, so I trapped him in my arms and assured them that he was telling the truth. They wrapped him in a blanket and tried to sedate him. Inside the ambulance, Bianca was going into shock. Nico collapsed, unable to watch.

* * *

It took a few hours for the area to be cleared. Bianca's body was placed in a thick black bag and then into the morgue transport vehicle. Nico climbed into the passenger seat without a word. He didn't even recognize that I was there until we arrived and he was asked to sign some papers and contact his lawyer.

"Just go."

"I'm staying with you."

"Leave me alone." He didn't even address me directly, walking away to an area of the building where I couldn't follow him.

Somehow, I ended up back at my dorm, angry with myself for not being able to do anything. I wished our school had an indoor pool. Being in the water would have helped. I settled for the shower, standing under the spray long enough that the water ran cold, not realizing that I'd been crying until I stepped out. I scrubbed frantically at my face with a dry washcloth, knowing I had to go to Nico, no matter the hour, if even to be turned away again.

From my room, a pixelated version of _Under the Sea_ – Rachel's idea of a joke - played. Nico's name flashed on the screen of my phone.

"Angel," I answered, relieved that he'd called me.

"I need you," he implored without preamble. "Something's wrong."

* * *

Before I could go to him, Nico instructed me to bring a few things, and not to ask any questions about it. "I'll explain when you get here."

The morgue was suspiciously quiet, but he came to the door and let me in, taking the plastic bag from my hands. He looked tired. It had been less than twelve hours and he looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"Bianca is alive," he revealed, breathing unevenly. "I don't know how, but she is."

I reached out to steady him. "Nico," I whispered. "It's going to be okay."

"Please don't think I'm crazy," he begged. "I need you to believe me." Taking my hand, he lead me into the cold locker. A puddle of purple liquid pooled under an open drawer, the remains of what appeared to be a sandwich scattered over the sheets wrapped around the body in the drawer. Bianca's body.

And she was breathing.


	5. we interrupt this fic to

Update 3/2/14

First, an apology: I promised a certain update schedule for this fic and I have not followed through.

Second: Please reread chapter 4 because I left out a crucial part at the end. Also, I accidentally skipped the chapter that was actually supposed to come after it so I'm sorry if you were confused. I will fix it by tomorrow.

Now.

The next chapter (chapter 7) has been a bit difficult to wrap up and honestly I do not feel motivated to write since there are so many more follows, favorites and views then reviews. I wish ffnet had a kudos button like a03 so that the numbers would match up. I completely understand if you think I'm selfish for wanting more feedback. Sure. But the fact remains that I will not continue to write unless that changes. I do not make any profit from this, so I don't have to do it. I'm perfectly okay just keeping this fic in my head. Originally, I had this posted on tumblr because I didn't want this frustration. It got a lot of likes and I was happy with that. A few people asked me to move it here so that it would be "easier to follow" so I complied. However, you might understand my hopes that this meant I would get good feedback here. Since I had gone through the trouble of moving it.

I'm not going to go through the labor of moving it back to tumblr, where I wanted it to stay exclusively in the first place.

So.

Drop me a line.

Or don't.

You might not care if you never read another chapter of this story again. That is your right.


	6. Mocha Latte

**Disclaimer:** I am not Rick Riordan. I'm not making cash profit on this fic. I don't even know why I started writing it. I'm a writer. One day I walk into the B&N cafe and the guy who makes me my drink smiles at me and I blow it out of proportion so. Fic.

* * *

I HAVE NEVER FUCKED UP POSTING AS MUCH AS I HAVE WITH THIS FIC. THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE ACTUAL CHAPTER 5.

* * *

**V. Mocha Latte**

When Percy finally spoke, it wasn't what I expected. "Is that an offering?" He gestured at the spilled grape soda and roast beef sandwich.

"Yeah," I replied. "This is not the reaction I was expecting at all."

He smiled wryly. "For what it's worth, I believe you." He poked at the sandwich with his toe. "Tell me what happened."

"It's All Soul's Day," I started. "The one night a year you can reunite with your loved ones. In Mexico, they put offerings on the graves. I… I was just respecting the rituals, trying to ease my grief. And I prayed."

"What gods did you petition?"

"I'm Catholic."

"Angel, I'll explain why this is relevant later, but I need you to think." He reached out and took both of my hands in his. "Did you summon any god associated with death?" In all the time I'd known him, I'd never seen Percy look so serious.

"Hades."

I felt his pulse leap, but he kept his face calm. "Why him?"

"It just came to me." I couldn't explain it, but when my eyes were tired of crying and I'd drunk half of the grape soda, I thought of what would happen to my sister. I imagined her riding across a dark river into the underworld, like in my favorite Greek legends.

Percy hugged me tightly. "Everything is going to be okay," he repeated.

I still wasn't sure why Percy was reacting like this, but he had brought the things I asked for. I carefully categorized everything in the plastic bag: a sports bra, underwear (Those two items alone spoke for my boyfriend's loyalty. I couldn't imagine how embarrassing it must have been to walk around a coed dorm asking random girls for their clothes.) sweat pants, a shirt, Percy's own jacket, and a pair of slippers. "I told them it was part of a fraternity dare," he explained.

He stood back while I stood over Bianca. She was breathing deeply now. I put one hand on her stomach and the other on her throat. Instantly, her eyes flew open and she sat up, shaking.

"Ni-Ni," she gasped, throwing her arms around me. "Where am I?"

I held out the clothes. "Get dressed. We're going to go get a cup of coffee."

* * *

Having coffee with my undead sister and very attractive boyfriend at 3 am was surreal, especially since the second we had our drinks Percy ignored me and asked Bianca if we had the same dad.

"I'm still waiting for you to explain why these random questions are relevant," I muttered.

"We do," Bianca acknowledged.

Percy took a deep breath. "What did he say to you?"

She stirred her mocha latte distractedly. "Nico… is in danger."

"You're talking about our dad, who we've never met," I enunciated slowly.

"Bianca just did," Percy said. "I'm going to call Piper. You two should talk."

I stared at Bianca. She smelled faintly of decay.

"I don't think I can even stomach this," she muttered, pushing it aside. "Ni-Ni. It was really dangerous, what you did."

"I didn't know I could."

"Do you remember that old lady who lived in the downstairs apartment when we were little? She taught me piano?"

"…yeah."

She heaved a sigh. "There's no easy way to say this… She… she wasn't alive."

"You had an imaginary friend."

"She was a ghost."

I frowned. "Bianca, you can't seriously…"

"I saw her after I died. She took me to dad's place."

"You saw dad."

"You don't remember him because you were so small. Four, maybe. But it was him. He told me that you were going to take me back, but that I couldn't stay for long." She reached over the table and took my hand. "Nico. I was blessed with the power to empathize with the dead. You can raise them. We have those gifts because of our dad."

I stood up, knocking my chair over. "No. That's impossible." The same feeling that tugged at me earlier seemed to liaison us together. A presence.

"You saw me die," she insisted.

"It was a mistake."

"It would have been easier for you to hear this when we were younger. Nico, we're demigods, children of Hades."

It didn't seem right that Bianca was the one who'd just come back from the dead and I was the one who needed comforting. I felt heavy.

"I'll get some ambrosia," Frank offered. Piper had come and gone, under instructions from Percy to explain why Bianca's body was missing. Jason was there, and so was Annabeth. My coffee had gotten cold.

"It would have been better if I'd told you when we were younger," Bianca repeated.

"You knew? This whole time?"

"I've known since dad left," she explained. "There's more I have to tell you, but I'll give it to you in smaller doses."

Frank handed me two small squares of something flaky and golden. They melted easily in my mouth and tasted like a long lost memory, tiramisu. "Mom used to make it for birthdays," Bianca whispered after she'd had some, too.

"There's something he has to know now, though," Percy interrupted. "There have been some monster sightings, and now we know that they're after him."

"At Frightmare!" I stood up, facing him. "You were fighting something."

"It was just an Empousa."

I shoved him hard. "You could have been hurt! Or worse! And I didn't know a damn thing. How did you even…"

He pulled a ballpoint pen from his pocket and flicked the cap off. A real bronze sword sprang into existence and I had to take a step back. "I've been training since I was twelve. I can protect you if it comes to that."

I scowled. "Fuck that. _I'm_ going to protect _you_, Caro."

He laughed. "Fine, but you're going to need some training."

"I volunteer," Jason interjected. "But he needs a weapon."

"I'll get it for him," Bianca added. "Dad promised that he'd help."

* * *

By the time we got back to the apartment it was 7 am. Bianca went right to her room. "I need to get into a sort of death trance," she explained. "I'll e babel to come back from it, but dad wanted me to warn you that your power is very specific. There are people who deserve more time. I might not be one of them."

I watched her, the tug of the Underworld's call almost too hard to ignore. Percy was sitting on the couch, his sword in his lap.

"We used to think it was dangerous for demigods to gather," he confided. "The only place we used to be able to was camp." He touched the cap of his pen to the tip of the sword until it was just a pen again. "I don't want you to think I'm disappointed that you're just like me. It's true I was happy, thinking you weren't, but only because it meant I wouldn't have to see you go through everything I did. And yet… Angel, I… I want to be with you, and that means I would have had to tell you about my life. You would have shared it one way or another."

"I'm going to protect you," I repeated.

"I know," he smiled.

"Are you going to stay until Bianca comes back?"

"If you want me to."

I ducked my head, heat rising to my face. "Do you want to see my room?"

I probably should have been embarrassed about the Mythomagic figurines on my shelf, but Percy liked them.

"But can we put away Poseidon and Hades away? I want to kiss you, and plastic representations of our dads in the room is awkward."

I put them in my desk drawer. "It's not awkward that we're cousins?"

"I know Hephaestus kids who date Aphrodite kids," he deadpanned, "And we both know how awkward _that_ is." He sat on my bed.

"I'm not cuddling," I warned him.

"Sure you're not."

I kissed him, erasing the smug smirk. He pulled me into his lap with a breathless groan. "I really meant what I said about your kisses, you know." I fisted his shirt with both hands and tried not to think about my sister in the other room. Both because I'd never had a guy in my room and because what she was doing was taking a lot of energy. Percy threaded his fingers in my hair.

"This… is coming off," I demanded in a whisper, pulling at the shirt.

He laughed quietly, complying. Thin scars wrapped from his ribs around to his back. One near his shoulder was still raw.

"That was a tough fight," he admitted.

Exhaling slowly, I leaned forward and placed a kiss at the deepest part of it.

* * *

Bianca emerged from her room after 12 hours. She was back in her own clothes, but she looked closer to death than when I brought her back. In her hands she carried a black sword. "Stygian Iron," she gasped. "It's not meant for me." When I took it, I understood. The sword seemed to suck in the essence of everything around it, and Bianca's undead energy was most vulnerable. I sheathed it and took it to my room, where Percy was sleeping. I wanted to curl up to his side and escape.

"Caro," I shook him. He stirred.

"Jason'll be waiting for you," he mumbled, yawning.

"Can you stay with Bianca?"

"Sure. I'll make pancakes."

I was as unsure as she was about her ability to eat, but I changed my clothes quickly – completely aware that my boyfriend was watching – and left for Edna's. The second I stepped outside I crashed into someone, nearly dropping the sword.

"Hey!" the person shouted. "Watch it! Oh! Neeks!" Leo brushed at his clothes dramatically. "Where are you off to in such a rush? To meet your boyfriend? I haven't seen you in weeks and last night there was a huge accident less than a mile from here. I was worried, man. What's with the sword?"

I gaped. "The sword?" Percy had assured me that to anyone else it would look like I was carrying a rolled up poster.

"Is it a Mythomagic thing?" he asked.

"Sort of."

"I was coming to play video games with you, but you're heading out. Can I tag along?"

I swallowed thickly. "Sure. Just let me… I forgot something. Hold this." I put the sword in his hands and went back inside. Percy was puzzling through Bianca's baking supplies.

"What does it mean if someone who isn't a demigod can see things that only a demigod can see?" I blurted, startling him.

He blinked. "Well, either they're special, like Rachel – she's an oracle – or they are actually a demigod and haven't been claimed."

I took his hand. "I want you to meet someone."

Leo looked from one of us to the other, clearly confused. "You forgot your boyfriend."

"This is Percy," I introduced. "Show him Riptide," I urged. Percy took the ballpoint pen from his pocket – apparently he could summon it at will – and uncapped it. Leo's eyes widened.

"Leo… you don't have a dad, do you?"

"Never met him," he choked out, weighing my sword in his hands and staring at Percy as though he was about to be challenged to a duel.

"I bet I know why," Percy retorted, pointing at the air above my best friend's head. A glowing red symbol lit the hallway, in the shape of a hammer.

"Shit," I whispered.

Leo looked up. "Well. _Now_ it makes sense."

* * *

"Honestly, I always knew I wasn't normal." Leo put his elbows on his knees, palms up. "I've been hiding something from you, Neeks." A flame appeared in each of his palms and spread down his forearms until he willed it to stop. He laughed. "I thought I was a mutant or something."

* * *

**Please leave me a review.** It doesn't have to be a huge paragraph filled with praise. You don't even have to like what I wrote. The reviews I love the best are ones that tell me what their favorite part of a chapter was. That's all. If everyone (or as close to) dropped me a line I would work really hard to update faster.


	7. Hot Pastries

**Disclaimer:** I am not Rick Riordan. I'm not making cash profit on this fic. I don't even know why I started writing it. I'm a writer. One day I walk into the B&N cafe and the guy who makes me my drink smiles at me and I blow it out of proportion so. Fic.

* * *

FUCK YES I GOT MY LAPTOP FIXED.

The chapters are now in the right order. The plot should make sense now.

* * *

This is the chapter that warranted the rating change.

* * *

**VII. Hot Pastries**

The worst part of the prophecy was that other than the egg hatching, there was no deadline. There was no way of telling how much time we had once the quest started.

"We need to find the scythe," Frank insisted.

"And keep Nico from resurrecting Kronos," Annabeth cut in.

"Wasn't planning on it," Nico muttered.

"Does anyone know where we could start looking?" Leo interrupted.

We'd been having strategy meetings nearly every day after Jason trained Nico. I could tell that it was draining him, along with work. Something else was bothering him, too. It could be Bianca. She didn't eat or sleep and hinted that her time was limited.

The air above the countertop shimmered. Luckily, it was past closing, so there was no one around to see. Tyson's face swam, nearly unrecognizable.

"Brother!"

"Hey, Tyson, what's up?" Grover greeted.

"Ella has been talking a lot."

"Really?" Annabeth pushed us both aside. "Any clues?"

"Louisiana."

I imagined how hard it much have been to get that out of her rambling. Ella was wonderful, but she couldn't hold an actual conversation for more than a few seconds because her brain was so packed with information, she couldn't keep it from spilling out. Tyson probably had to hear all about the state's history, geographical information, and every other written fact about it before he figured out what she wanted to tell us. At least it wasn't Alaska.

"We're still a person short," Nico reminded us as the Iris message faded.

"Maybe that's where we'll find them!" Frank suggested, cheerfully.

"We still have to wait for the Festus to hatch…" Leo murmured. "I'm still getting 'Not ready yet' and 'Are you my mother?'." We all laughed.

* * *

After walking Nico home, I went back to Edna's. Only Jason, Piper, and Leo (who was cloistered in the forge and not really talking to anyone) were the only ones there. Piper was trying to leech every moment alone with her boyfriend as she could since she wasn't coming on the quest. I owed her a lot for handling the Bianca situation. And Jason. Not being able to train Nico myself was frustrating because I wouldn't be satisfied until I could spar with him. I had an ulterior motive, finding out what was bothering him.

"He's good enough to defend himself," Jason assured me.

"We don't even know who is trying to resurrect Kronos," I reminded him. "Nico's supposed to be the one bringing him back to life. That means some agent – someone who wants Kronos to return – is coming after him. Someone sent the monsters. Once we start the quest, they might even show up themselves."

"Hey, we'll all be there to help protect him. Frank and I…"

"And Leo," I deadpanned. "Can he fight?"

Jason shrugged. "All I know is we need him."

Below us, a muted explosion went off.

"Festus!" Jason exclaimed, making for the elevator. We rode down anxiously, not prepared for the wreckage and smoke coming from the forge. The furnace was out. In fact, it was nonexistent. Scaps of metal littered the floor. I didn't know Leo well, but panic seized my stomach. A huge shape was curled up in the back of the room, something huge composed entirely of bronze.

"Hey, guys," Leo rolled out of the middle of it, coughing. His eyebrows had been singed off and his arms were soot black to his elbows.

The shape behind him slowly uncurled, stretching. A pair of wings unfurled and a thick, telescoping tail whipped out and hit the floor in front of our feet.

"No way," Jason breathed. "Festus is a dragon?"

The dragon turned its glowing red eyes on us and grinned, each of its teeth a rapidly spinning drill.

"This is so cool," I laughed. "But how are we going to get a dragon out of here?"

"I was thinking we'd pull a Gringots escape," Leo said, dusting his pants off. Festus made a series of whirr and click noises and Leo frowned, nodding. "Or we could do that."

"What?" Jason and I said at the same time.

"Festus, execute."

Within seconds, the metal plates that made up the dragon's body retracted and folded until sitting on the floor between us was a shiny bronze orb the size of an extra-large beach ball.

"Great, we can just roll him out."

"Let's get him upstairs," Leo agreed. "We'll get everyone assembled in a few hours."

* * *

There was even less room for us in the employee lounge with beach ball Festus, so we rolled the coffee table away.

"So what's the plan?" Everyone looked to Annabeth. Even though she wasn't part of the quest, she was unofficially the game maker.

"From what I understand about…" she looked at Festus. "You guys are going to have to split up for a bit. Romans to Louisiana to find their third or the scythe, and Greeks to…" She tried avoiding my eyes but failed. "To wherever Luke is."

"Luke?" Grover spit out half of the tin can he'd been snacking on. "Why Luke?"

Annabeth sighed. "Jason told me what you were thinking, Percy," she said softly. "Think about it. Who would want to raise the one being that wants to destroy our parents?"

"Luke," I confirmed. I felt Nico's hand slip into mine and relaxed a little. "Of course."

"I don't think splitting up is a good idea," Jason spoke up. "No offense. But I don't think we should until we have our third Roman. We have Festus. We have Louisiana as a starting point. Let's go."

"I like that plan better," Nico seconded, ignoring Annabeth's glare.

"Me, too," I added.

"Road trip!" Leo crowed. "So who's riding with me?

"I don't do air travel," I shrugged.

"Zhang and I'll go," Jason volunteered.

Everyone zeroed in on me and Nico. While I was secretly glad for Jason's over exuberance with my love life, I also kind of wanted to kick him. "So…" Annabeth finally broke the silence. "You two should book a train. You'll want to synchronize your arrival with the others'."

"It'll be a long trip. You could get a sleeping compartment with a bed!" Leo grinned. Nico kicked him, blushing hotly.

* * *

Bianca was somber as we explained our plans. "I'll get you the train tickets," she insisted. "Ni-Ni, please take the car to the bank and take some money from the emergency account. I don't know how long you'll be gone and you'll need funds for food and supplies, for lodging."

I started to get up and follow him, but she put a cold hand on my shoulder. "Percy will help me make dinner. Hurry back."

Nico looked confused for a moment, but didn't argue. When he was gone, I shifted uncomfortably in the small kitchen chair. I had a nervous suspicion that Bianca had deduced that Nico and I would have a lot of alone time on the train and I was about to get The Talk.

"I don't have much time left," she confessed instead. "I might not be here when you return from the quest."

"You're not going to tell Nico," I guessed, fury rising like the tide somewhere below my lungs, ready to drown me at the tipping point.

She sighed. "If I did, he would try everything to get me back. I have to go. I can't let him do that to himself. He'll be a wreck. He'll be drained and emotionally dead."

I relaxed a little. "I don't want that for him."

"At least this time he won't have to watch me. It'll be very peaceful for me." She stood up shakily. "He'll need you."

* * *

Bianca was cheerful all through dinner, even forcing herself to eat a few bites. The secret weighed heavily on me, but it was preciously kept.

* * *

Leo, Jason and Frank took off at 4 am, the time when the streets were quietest. We were cautious, even though Leo assured everyone that the camouflage for Festus would make him seem like a small helicopter to non demigods.

Nico and I missed the departure because our train was leaving several hours later and we wanted sleep. I crashed on the couch in his apartment, my few possessions already packed. I hadn't been on a quest since I was sixteen, but I remembered to pack light. I had no idea what would happen in New Orleans, but I was honestly more concerned about the trip over.

Since Bianca's return, Nico and I hadn't been able to work on our relationship much. It didn't seem fair that nothing in my life would ever be normal. And yet, I wouldn't give Nico up just because he was part of the dangerous world I knew. It was shitty, comparing what I had now to what I'd had with Annabeth, but it crept up on me constantly When we were together, I felt as through we'd always be together because we both felt the need to fight in order to escape the life. After I turned eighteen and things quieted down for me it seemed like there wasn't any reason for us to be a couple anymore. The normalcy we'd fought to get to – college, part time jobs – didn't seem like a reward. At least not to me. Annabeth was constantly annoyed that I was taking what we'd earned for granted. I didn't feel like I'd earned anything. Somehow I knew I would never have that. It wasn't a pessimistic worldview.

Nico chose to accept it.

I didn't get the feeling that he loved his new identity, but he didn't scorn it and insist that he wasn't going to let the gods control him. He wore the destiny easily. Didn't struggle. At the same time, he wasn't a puppet. When I asked him what he thought about prophecies determining our movements, he'd admitted that he didn't like the idea of it, but since we were in a certain situation, knowing he was in danger, we should use it as a guideline.

"It's vague, anyway," he whispered, handing me a bowl of cereal. He'd plucked out all the blue marshmallow bits out of his portion and put them in my bowl, swapping them for my other colors before he poured the milk. "When Zeus had Prometheus make man out of clay, he didn't expect them to do everything he decided for them. He dropped them on earth and amused himself watching them make their own choices. Prophecies only tell the most limited version of the future because between each line there are so many ways we could go wrong, so many ways we can get to the next part our way."

When Nico talked about the gods he didn't blame them. He treated them as if they were human in their own way, that their whims weren't without fault. I wasn't sure if I liked that, but it was refreshing for a newly claimed demigod, soothing after Annabeth's rage over what she felt was a life written for her without her permission. As if all of her choices were made by the gods masquerading as her own thoughts.

The sheets Nico spread over the couch for me to sleep on smelled of him, a little of earth in winter and the faintly bitter smell of pressed flowers, long dried.

This was the kind of thing the trip would afford me. This was something I'd earned. To know what Nico smelled like, to know if he wanted me. I was almost sure he was, the way he kissed, how honestly his skin pressed against mine. I squirmed, tossing and turning on the couch. That one time we'd barely… it had been good. It had felt good. Unconsciously, my hand had slid down my pajama shirt to rest just below my navel.

* * *

Bianca took us to the train station in her car. She was pale in the daylight. My gut twisted wretched guilt. The things I was thinking about last night seemed so wrong against the burden of what I couldn't say to my Angel. I left them together on the platform with the excuse that I needed to call my mom.

The phone rang three times before she answered. I'd told her about the quest a few days ago, and she wasn't happy about it. Like Annabeth, she assumed that once I got past a certain age, things would be less dangerous for me.

"I'm getting on the train now."

"Call me when you can and let me know you're safe."

"I promise." I hesitated a moment. "Nico promised he'd protect me," I whispered, smiling softly.

She inhaled sharply. "You… watch out for each other."

After assuring her that I had everything I needed, I went to join Nico and waved as Bianca drove away. He took my hand without asking permission, without meeting my eyes, and I grinned, liking that he was a little embarrassed. A few people were staring at us as we boarded the train, but I hadn't detected any monsters, at least not by smell. Our compartment actually did have beds, since the trip would take up an entire day. The two seats by the window converted into one bed, and a second berth lowered from the ceiling, a murphy bed in an overhead cabinet. From the wall between the two seats a table folded out of the wall. We stowed our bags under the seats and spread out the hot pastries Bianca had made us, coffee to be served by the staff. Nico liked things that were subtly sweet, things filled with dark chocolate cream. I liked saccharine.

We spent most of the light hours eating at the small table, playing Mythomagic. Nico was surprised when I first pulled out the deck.

"Frank taught me," I explained. "We were both in training."

It was strangely peaceful, drinking coffee – off work schedule Nico still took it black, but with a generous helping of honey rather than creamer – and sharing quiet conversation while we played. I wasn't very good, but Nico didn't boast and I'd really only studied enough of it so that neither of us would be bored and so that we wouldn't have to think about the quest so much. I didn't know what was waiting for us in New Orleans.

After our dinner plates were cleared, we took off our shoes and changed into sweat pants for sleeping. Nico pulled his knees to his chest and stared out the window into the night. Far off we could see light clusters of towns and cities.

"Bianca isn't… she's not going to be okay, is she?"

I slowly drew a deep breath. "I've never witnessed anyone brought back from the dead, Angel. But where the underworld is concerned… I don't think it's possible to come back without consequences, no."

"Did she tell you to keep me from bringing her back again if she…?"

I weighed the possibility of lying to him. "Something like that," I muttered.

He nodded. "I wish I could say you wouldn't have to… but if she's gone… when we get back… I'm not going to push you away." He reached across the table and I took his hand immediately. "Don't give up on me, okay?" It was a relief to know that he trusted me if he couldn't handle losing her again. I'd had nightmares since about the way he'd coldly folded into himself and refused to even look at me after watching her die the first time. As a demigod, I'd witnessed death a few times before, but at the time I didn't know that Nico was anything but human. It had hurt so badly to see him withdraw. Not for the first time, I'd felt my own mortality and powerlessness.

"Tell me about your first quest," he entreated to distract himself.

I gave his hand a squeeze and very slowly started in on the story of how I stopped civil war from brewing between our dads and Zeus.

"Luke instigated everything," I confided. "He was my friend, and sort of a role model. When he betrayed me, it hurt. I hate to think this could be him all over again."

"You _liked_ him," Nico whispered, equally interested and jealous.

I blushed. "Yeah. He was a few years older than me. He was cool. He taught me to swordfight. I sort of hero-worshiped him. And he encouraged me. Not because he cared about me at all, but because it was part of his plan."

He looked down at the table, choosing his words carefully. "Were you… attracted to him?"

"I was probably twelve when I met him," I defended. "But… yeah. I guess. Looking back on how I felt when I was with him… it was innocent. I don't think I had the capacity for the kinds of thoughts…" I took a deep breath "…the kinds of thoughts I have about you."

His eyes locked firmly onto mine. "Caro."

"I need you to know that I'm not experimenting with you or trying to use you to make up for him. I… do you even want me that way?"

He pulled his hand away and raked his fingers through his hair, frantic with embarrassment. "…so much."

I reached under the table and pulled the latch, folding it back into the wall. "Do you want to set up the bed?" I asked, hoping that I didn't sound as nervous as I felt.

* * *

The compartment was set up in such a way that once you set up the lower bed, the second berth lowered from the ceiling. Nico and I ignored it, falling into the lower one with mutual, breathless relief. His hands grasped the back of my neck, dragged down my spine and back up, under my shirt. I knotted my fingers in his hair – longer and softer than mine.

"Ti voglio bene," he murmured, barely audible into a kiss.

"What does that…?"

"I love you," he translated honestly.

I shoved him away and pulled my shirt off in one careless motion. I wanted to tell him it was impossible. That it was ridiculous, the son of Hades in love with me. But I ignored all my doubt and pushed him down, allowing myself to surrender to his desperate, bruising kisses. I said more things in Italian, but I didn't ask for explanations. It was all clear to me. I loved how his fingers lightly caressed the nape of my neck, how our legs tangled together. I loved feeling that the intimacy wasn't selfish. I kissed his neck, biting gently, lifting his shirt off an inch at a time.

"Nico… I… is this okay?" I asked, my voice ragged.

He relaxed, easing his shoulders away from the mattress to shrug the shirt off comfortably. "It's okay," he assured me, raking his fingers through my hair and pulling me into a deep kiss. I yielded my weight, cursing in a hiss as his heartbeat pulsed through his skin to mine. Nico's mouth was sinfully hot, his lips soft. I wanted to drown in his kisses. I heard myself saying it, pleading, blood rushing in my ears. Nico is shorter than me, leaner in muscle, but he's strong enough to flip me over his shoulder is he positions his weight right and strong enough to push at me and plant a knee on either side of my hips, the dim light of the compartment making a halo around his hair, roughly tousled. He's an Angel. "The first time you said that to me," he gasped, "I could hardly sleep. I wanted to run back to you."

I reached up and pulled him down, swallowing _tivogliobenecaro_. He opened his mouth, moaning heavily as our tongues made agonizingly slow touches. Mutually, our groins met, grinding heatedly against thick fabric. Nico half collapsed against me, trailing kissing my jaw, my neck, my shoulder. I threw myself away from the bed, fisting his hair to support him.

"Is this okay?" I asked again, deliberately shifting my hips. He groaned in response, screwing his eyes shut, reaching for me.

"Yes. _Please_."

I hooked my fingers into the waistband of his pants, tugging down lightly. "I'm not going t be very good at this," I promised, laughing weakly. He was nearly fully erect, the cloth of his underwear straining. I felt dizzy, but I lowered my head, gently enfolding the bulge in my mouth. Nico jumped, his pulse twitching. I sucked lasciviously, relishing the sound that he made. I repeated the ministrations a few more times and his hand flew to the back of my head. I gripped his wrist, encouraging him to hold on.

"Fuck," he hissed, writhing. A string of Italian followed every barely suppressed thrust.

Unable to bear it, I shed the garments, using one hand to weigh the heated flesh between his legs in my palm.

"Perc-Caro… I don't think… I can't…" he choked out.

"It's okay," I forgave him, relaxing my throat and taking him as deep as I could. My free hand easily wrapped around my own heavy shaft, pumping steadily.

"Are you…?"

I pulled up to the tip of his cock, dragging my tongue over the slit before swallowing down again. He thrust a few times in quick succession, moaning his understanding. We came within seconds of each other, and I tried desperately to lap up as much of him as I could, breathing deeply to keep from gagging. The inside of his thighs were splatted beautifully. I bit at the taught flesh, licking. He shoved me against the compartment wall and explored my abdomen with his mouth, open mouthed kisses down to the wet coarse hair around my exhausted member, the tip of his tongue pressing to the tight fold underneath. I ran my fingers through his hair, humming throatily.

"You taste blue," I murmured.

I didn't tell him that I associated the color with comfort, belonging and love. It was scary enough, knowing what we'd done.

* * *

Don't forget to drop me a review. I really love getting ones that tell me what your favorite part was. It doesn't take a lot of time and it motivates me to keep the story going.


	8. The Usual

**Disclaimer:** I am not Rick Riordan. I'm not making cash profit on this fic. I don't even know why I started writing it. I'm a writer. One day I walk into the B&N cafe and the guy who makes me my drink smiles at me and I blow it out of proportion so. Fic.

* * *

THIS CHAPTER WAS SO FUCKIGN HARD TO WRITE.

* * *

**VIII. The Usual**

Thanks to everyone who has been leaving me a review. I really appreciate it, even if it's hearing what your favorite part of the chapter was.

This chapter was very hard to write because at the beginning, I couldn't get Percy and Nico off the train. There seemed to be an unresolved issue.

Someone asked me about ages in a review, so I thought I'd drop it here for my reference as well.

Percy, Annabeth, and Rachel are 19

Bianca is/was 21

Jason and Piper are 18

Frank is 17

Leo and Nico are 16

Hazel is 15

* * *

I woke up a few hours later, tangled up in limbs that half belonged to me, on the edge of the lower bunk. I looked over my shoulder a grinned. In the pale, almost dawn, Percy's hair was mused against the pillow, drool pooling the sheets. My thighs felt weak and dry, a thin film of dry, cracked fluid over my lower abdomen.

I went to the sink and quickly cleaned myself up and found a clean pair of pants. I was almost sure there was a laundry somewhere on the train, so I stuffed our clothes into a plastic bag. My heart was racing. Everywhere that Percy had touched was a hundred times more aware. I wanted to go back to the bunk and curl into his side, replay what had happened in my mind. I let out a shaky breath and slipped out of the cabin, looking around for a stewardess. I was probably the only person awake, save the conductor. Eventually I found the laundry. It was a small cabin, three washing machines and three dryers stacked literally on top of each other. A vending machine against the other wall sold packets of soap and a few other things, including condoms. I blushed heavily, glad I was alone. I bought a packet of soap and a dryer sheet, hesitated, then pushed the code for the palm sized blue box. "Contains 10", the front read. I shoved it into my pocket, determined not to think about it.

The sound of the wash cycle was soothing, even to my tensed nerves.

What were you supposed to do after sex?

I knew I couldn't talk to Bianca about this. No matter what, I wanted our last conversation to have been the one we'd had on the platform.

_It's going to be hard, Ni-Ni. I can't tell you how much I wish I'd told you sooner. Everything… but it doesn't matter now. What matters is choice. You have the power to choose. I believe… I believe you'll make the best choices for you. Even if they aren't the right ones, you'll learn from them. Stick close to Percy, okay? I don't know what's going to happen with you two, but I know you can trust him. I'll always love you._

I switched the load over to the dryer. Out the window, the horizon was rose gold. If the dining car was open, I could bring breakfast back, and hopefully Percy wouldn't think I'd left because I regretted our intimacy.

* * *

More people were awake as I headed back to our cabin. The dining car had just opened when I got to it, so I placed an order to be delivered to us. Black coffee for me, a hot latte for Percy, and blueberry pancakes. I hugged myself tightly walking down the hall, barely able to contain the heat spreading out from my chest. In the near darkness, I'd accidentally grabbed Percy's shirt instead of my own. I knew I looked a mess, but I couldn't stop myself from imagining what would happen when I saw him again. Surely the gods could grant us an hour of bliss before we had to think about the dangers we were destined for.

* * *

Percy was not alone when I returned, but he was still asleep, a thick golden shimmer surrounding his body. My first instinct was to attack the person standing over him, but before I could send the command to my body I felt sluggish.

"Relax, I won't hurt him," he drawled.

"_Luke_," I hissed, not needing any introductions. True, no one had told me what he looked like – no one had told me anything about him other than the fact that he might be the one behind all of this – but I knew it was him. I registered the blond hair, athletic build. Percy couldn't be blamed for having a crush on him. Even the scar on his face didn't hinder his good looks. Haughty, but with an air of maturity I would have admired if I didn't know better.

"So they've told you about me," he grinned. "Or… did you hear it by accident?" He glanced at Percy's sleeping body, only modestly saved by the thin blue blanket.

I blushed furiously.

"What do you want?"

"Your assistance, of course. For your grandfather. You have until the winter solstice to decide."

I fought the heaviness holding my body in place. "_That's_ your sales pitch? It's pathetic."

He gave a short, bitter laugh. "Time is on my side, Nico. You can expect to see me again very soon."

The spell released me and I lunged for my sword, but Luke was gone the second I laid a hand to it.

* * *

"Hey, did I do something wrong?" Percy reached across the table, his hand hovering over mine. I took it immediately, grateful that nothing was stopping me.

I shook my head. "Bianca." It was partly true, anyway. Percy squeezed my hand gently. "I know… I've already accepted that she might not be there when we get back. And even if she is… but that doesn't mean I'm not torn up about it. I'm trying so hard not to just run off and find a way to keep her. No matter what the cost."

He nodded. "I know what you're going through. When I was thirteen, my mom…" he trailed off. "Maybe I shouldn't tell you this story."

"It'll keep me distracted."

He smiled at our hands. "I could think of other ways to distract you."

I kicked him under the table, not hard. "That was lame." He laughed. "What's so bad about this story? Your mom's okay now, right?"

"Yeah, it's just… um… see, your dad was kind of holding her hostage in the underworld. I literally did run off and find a way to bring her back, though she wasn't technically dead…" he sighed. "The gods aren't perfect."

"You think I might use that to justify turning on them."

"Angel‒"

"Turn on you." I pulled my hand away.

"I didn't‒"

"I know. But I would understand you thinking that way."

He picked at the blueberry pancake crumbs on his plate. "When I was seventeen, I lost friends to that… to that anger."

"I changed my mind," I said. "A distraction would be really great right now."

"Angel, we don't have to."

The heat throbbing my my chest started to spread. "I know. I… I want it. Not because I want to stop thinking about Bianca or for you to stop thinking about the battles you have on me or whatever, but because…" I took a shaky breath. "I'm just in awe that I can have this." It didn't make sense. So many bad things were hanging over my head, but hearing Percy call me his Angel, flirting with me, it seemed more important and more real than anything else. "…and when I was in the laundry room earlier, I…" I pushed back embarrassment and muttered, "…I was thinking that we might need to be safe and all, so…"

Percy grinned. "You bought condoms from the vending machine, didn't you?" I started to protest, but he left his seat and slid in beside me, tucking the profile of his face into my neck. "I'm not teasing, I swear."

"Sure," I scoffed, but put a hand to the back of his head anyway.

He groaned. "Okay. When you do that…"

I scratched lightly at the crown of his head, spread my fingers so that I was cradling it the way it would be if I were about to baptize him. "That?"

"Yes, that," he whispered. "It's hot. I like it."

I swallowed thickly. "Good."

"_Please_ tell me you got at _least_ two condoms," he murmured against my skin, deftly unbuttoning my pants."

Shifting my weight a little, I took the box from my pocket. "…I got ten."

"You really _do_ want me!" Percy smiled.

I blushed darkly. "The machine didn't sell them individually, okay?"

"_Sure_," he imitated my sarcasm, taking the box and extracting a foil wrapped package. "I don't think we should… you know. Not here. But there is something I want to try."

"Okay?"

"Let me know if you don't like it."

I nodded, intently watching his hands as they undid my zipper. Without meaning to, I dropped by hand down to the top of his spine, softly digging my fingertips in. He exhaled sharply.

"Wait."

I relaxed by grip. "We don't have to do this right now," I assured him.

"I'm just calling pause," he explained. "What I have in mind might be a little messy." He looked around and reached for a stack of towels under the sink. I took one and spread it over the seat under us.

"Can I…?" he asked, lightly stroking my knee. "Touch me," I said, biting back the whimper rising from my throat. Percy's mouth on mine was grateful, hungry. His hand dipped into my pants, gently palming the bulge in my underwear. I rolled my hips forward in an involuntary thrust and he moaned, stroking harder so that I would do it again.

"You're getting hard," he panted, hooking his thumb into the band and pulling down. I tensed, arching up from the seat enough to free myself. Even though this wasn't new to him now, he blushed as he started to touch me again. We kissed heatedly, whispering things to each other, Percy laughing softly.

"So… what did you want to try?" I asked, breathless. My pants were on the floor and his were open, revealing that he was getting just as aroused as I was.

"I want to…" he hesitated. "_Relax_ you." He raised an eyebrow in suggestion and I felt my heart stop. There really was no dignified way of phrasing it, but I understood, and my body responded to what that meant.

"O-okay." I took a deep breath. "You can… you can talk dirty to me. No one will hear."

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"I'm not," I insisted. "I'm actually really, really turned on right now. It's embarrassing."

He kissed me deeply. "Angel…" I lost track of time. When I came out of the haze of need long enough I was on my back. Percy hovered over me, kissing my neck, pumping my erection, his hand gripping the table hard enough to whiten his knuckles. "Angel," he gasped. "I want… I want to make you come with my fingers. I'm going to push into this hot, tight hole under your cock and pleasure you inside."

I spread my legs a little. "The condoms…" I heard myself saying.

He opened a package and deftly pulled the rubber over his fingers. "This might feel weird at first, but I promise I'll make it feel good soon."

It did feel strange, and it took a few minutes to move into a position that made me feel less tense. I clawed at his back, thankful my short nails couldn't do a lot of damage through his shirt. Finally it began to feel as good as he'd promised and I abandoned myself to it. My legs had cramped up but I ignored it, instead focusing on Percy's breathing against my hairline. He was muttering things in Greek, telling me how hot it felt inside me, how deep he wanted to go, pleading to let him suck me off.

"No," I gasped, tightening my forearms at his back. "Just kiss me, please, Caro."

He groaned against my mouth and I came. Percy slipped his fingers out of me gently, smiling. "I really liked that," he confessed.

I nodded, reaching out to caress the bulge at the front of his pants. "Your turn?"

He blushed darkly. "D-do you want to?"

It seemed right. We were equals. Everything he did for me, I could do for him. My head felt heavy with pleasure and exhaustion, but I fought it.

"Water," Percy reminded me. "You're dehydrated." The sink opened with his thought and filled the cup he held out. "I can take care of this on my own," he assured me as I drank it down. I considered it for a moment.

"Before today…" I steadied myself by holding on to the table. "…did you ever think of me when you touched yourself?"

His hand slowly dragged down his shirt to the fastenings of his pants. "…once."

I leaned forward, teasing him for a kiss. "Show me."

He exhaled shakily and obeyed, stroking himself and rubbing his thumb in tight circles over his hole, calling out my name when he reached his orgasm.

* * *

We changed into the clean clothes I'd brought back from the laundry and found snacks to eat before the train stopped.

"Sex," Percy laughed, "really does make you hungry and tired. I thought it was a myth."

I rolled my eyes and kicked him under the table. "How can you _not_ question everything you thought was a myth after discovering your heritage?"

He laughed with me, conceding my point. Until the train pulled into the station I pretended that we were okay, that we were a normal couple on a trip. Luke swam beneath the surface of my mind but I ignored him, uncertain of how to tell Percy. If I should.

* * *

Once we got off the train, we walked to a coffee shop a few blocks away, where we'd agreed to meet the others. Festus was already parked outside. He took up two parking spaces.

"Won't someone, y'know… see him?"

"Normal people don't see what we see," Percy reminded me. "Plus, I'm willing to bet your friend built a cloaking device into him."

"To everyone else it looks like some construction is being done," Leo informed us. We were all impressed. Crowded around the small table, he elbowed me in the ribs with a grin. "So… how was the train ride?"

I blushed and elbowed him back.

"It was great," Percy spoke for me.

"Awesome!" Jason praised, punching him lightly in the shoulder.

I groaned. "Can we focus, please?"

Percy smiled softly at me and took my hand under the table. "Did you call Annabeth?" he asked Frank, his tone businesslike.

"Last night," Frank replied. "She's doing some research to see if there are any monuments to specific gods we can go to for clues." He paused. "It would be great to have a Mars demigod. I miss my brothers and sisters."

Jason looked down at his drink and said nothing. Maybe he missed his siblings, too.

"Are there a lot of demigods?" Leo asked suddenly.

"Currently there are less than 700 registered," Percy supplied. "Some might be too young to have been claimed, or were born to lower gods, not in any danger."

"Lucky them," Jason muttered.

"We should walk around," I suggested. "Let's not wait on Annabeth. We might get a feeling faster than she can provide factual evidence."

"Agreed," Jason said, somewhat mollified. "And a group of us is like a flashing neon sign to monsters. I vote we split up."

"I got my Angel," Percy volunteered.

"You've got Zhang," Jason corrected. "I'll take Nico and Valdez can do an air sweep." Percy started to protest. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder, Perce. Give the kid some room to breathe."

"Hey," I squeezed Percy's hand. "It's okay." Then, before I lost my nerve, I kissed him briefly. Leo whistled and I followed Jason out the door.

We headed east.

* * *

Five hours later Frank called us, excitedly talking about a Mars statue they found. Jason and I had done a lot of exploring by that point and were exhausted of walking. "We'll wait until dark to check it out," he told Frank. "Anyplace nearby where we can eat?"

Mostly we'd walked, but now Jason took some cash from his knapsack and hailed a cab. We were nearly 40 minutes away from everyone else. I fell in to the backseat gratefully. We were protected from the driver by a sheet of bulletproof plastic. "Do you have any demigod siblings?" I asked, keeping my voice low. Jason tensed and then relaxed.

"A sister," he said finally. "I haven't see her in ages." He didn't speak again until we were almost at the restaurant. "Her name is Thalia."

* * *

The place we chose to eat fortunately accepted demigod currency, of which we had a little more, so we all had a big meal and then stationed ourselves around the park, Percy and I huddled together on a bench, the others scattered. The statue of Mars was right across the street, towering between a number of high powered office spaces. It was made of stone, accented in streaks of gold around his shield, the handle of his spear, even his eyes, which were actual imperial gold, the reason Frank got excited.

"Before we left New York," Percy whispered, "…did Piper give you anything?"

"No," I answered, immediate and suspicious. "Why?"

"It's just…" Percy squirmed. "I haven't been able to concentrate all day. I keep thinking about being with you." He put a hand on my knee and shifted closer. "I'm drowning in you. It's kind of scary."

I tucked my head under his chin. "Try not to get too distracted," I murmured. "When this is all over I want more than your fingers inside of me and I need to know that you can handle it."

He inhaled sharply. "Angel."

"It's hard for me, too," I continued. "I didn't want to be separated from you earlier. It's like time is moving a lot slower when I'm with you. I don't want that feeling to get in the way of me protecting you like I promised."

* * *

Sometime after 2 in the morning the street was empty enough to approach Mars. The gold in his eyes shone bright. It was so strong it practically physically tugged Jason and Frank forward. For almost an hour we were patient as Frank prayed to his dad, asking if we were on the right track.

"We need to see what he's seeing," Frank finally said, looking up at the statue's face. "That's about as much help as we're going to get."

Leo tapped a few keystrokes into the command board at Festus' spine and we suddenly had a sort of ladder – not with rungs, but formed in such a way that we could climb up and down easily. Frank went first, then Jason, then Percy. "It's too dark," Leo complained.

I went last.

Holding on to the helmet, I gazed in the direction the eyes pointed until the street lights and what visible stars in the sky seemed to blend together. I felt a tug at my heart and the feeling of being wrapped up in something. "Bianca!" I called out. "It's Bianca!" I nearly fell climbing down and hit the ground running straight ahead of me. The feeling was slowly fading from my skin. I forgot everything else. My sister was dying. Blood rushed pumping in my ears. I barely heard Percy yelling for me to slow down. I dodged taxis and darted through alleys, slamming into iron gates first with my hands and then with the rest of my body, as though I could phase through it.

It wasn't until I felt myself being pulled into Percy's arms did I realize that I'd been crying.

"It's Bianca," I told him. "She's _here_."

His expression was blank, and I knew he wanted to tell me I was wrong, but couldn't risk breaking my heart. "This is a graveyard, Nico," he said.

Leo broke us in, instructing Festus to drill through the lock. I knew they were all thinking there was something wrong with me, but I could feel her. I recognized how I'd felt when I'd seen her start breathing again, in the morgue. But it was fading.

The grave I stopped at was unmarked except for a short wooden post. It was hidden away and unkempt, but I dug my hands into the earth and started digging. Percy followed wordlessly, then Jason, then Frank and Leo. It was a shallow grave, and the coffin was old, rotten wood falling apart at the slightest touch. I felt Bianca's presence dissipate, and all at once, I understood.

"She's my sister," I answered the silence. Inside lay a girl, skin the color of milk chocolate, vibrant with health. Her hair framed her sleeping face.

"Is she… alive?" Frank breathed.

"Not yet," I didn't dare touch her. "I need to burn a soul to bind her back to life." I wasn't sure how I knew that, but maybe Bianca's dying had opened a link of communication between me and the underworld. I felt new tears rising up. She was gone. I knew. I felt as though part of me had been taken away.

"You have to burn a soul," Leo deadpanned.

"Where are we supposed to…?" Percy started.

Frank surprised us all by speaking up. "Right here, actually."

"Oh, sure, we'll just pop around the corner and pick one up at the convenience store," Leo quipped.

"No, I literally meant right here," Frank reached inside his jacket and pulled out something wrapped in plastic bubble wrap. Carefully, he cut the tape and unwound the plastic, revealing a bit of charred wood, a little bit longer than a cardboard toilet paper tube.

"I'm pretty sure this fits the description for 'anticlimactic'," Leo whispered loudly.

"Frank, we can't," Percy insisted, clearly understanding something we didn't.

"We're not burning it," Jason agreed.

"Wait. Is that thing is soul?" Leo asked.

"It's tied to his soul," Percy explained.

"Hey, then if Zhang wants to make a noble sacrifice for the cause, who are we to stop him?" Leo held out his hand to take it, a flame blooming in his palm. I shoved him.

"What will happen to you?" I asked, seriously.

"I'll live," Frank sighed. "But having this has helped me cheat death a few times. The next time I get injured… basically it absorbs pain for me." He pointed to the scorch marks and the splinters. "This is to me as the portrait was to Dorian Grey" He handed it to me. "I'm prepared to endure whatever pain I have to, if your sister is our third Roman."

* * *

Percy and Frank argued for a long time about the legitimacy of the girl in the grave. My sister.

Finally, just before sunrise, Percy gave in. I was worried he might be angry with me for making the suggestion that I had, but he held my hand and asked if I needed anything else. I shook my head, fighting tears. This wasn't the same as with Bianca. The girl in the grave was alive. Her soul had unjustly been bound to the underworld.

"Put it in her hands," I instructed Frank. He put the bit of wood over her abdomen and gently folded her hands over it. I broke away the entire lid of the coffin away with Percy and Jason's help and then lowered myself into the grave, putting her head in my lap. I let my hands hover over her body and called to her soul with my own, letting it plunge down into the earth. The wood began to burn, though the flames didn't scar her hands or the plain cotton dress she wore.

Jason and Percy held Frank by his arms, trying to help him cope with the pain. He wasn't making any noise, but I could tell by how he was trying to fold in on himself that he had never hurt this much.

I felt the blood within her awaken, and her hands tightened around the wood until it was gone. The fire died.

"It… didn't work?" Leo asked after a moment," looking over at Frank. He looked drained, but alive. A few bruises had suddenly appeared on his arm, and a deep cut was bleeding from his ribs into his jacket, the wounds the soul bind had absorbed for him. Thankfully, the bleeding stopped almost immediately and the wound began to close up. Frank relaxed.

"Something's missing…" I mused. I could feel the first breath building up inside her, but didn't know how to release it.

"She's beautiful," Frank murmured.

I stared at him hard, thinking. It was worth a try. "Kiss her."

"W-w-what?" he stammered.

"It's your soul that binds her back to life. You're the one she needs to… to…"

"Like CPR," Percy volunteered. He reached into the coffin and helped me lift her up further.

"Are you sure?"

"No, but what _else_ are we going to do?"

Frank seemed to weigh our options, such as they were, and leaned down, planting a very chaste kiss at the corner of her mouth. Everyone waited. Her eyes fluttered open, oddly as gold as the ones on the Mars statue. She stared around at us all, speechless, before crawling out of the grave and coughing up some dirt, breathing hard. She opened her palm, flicked away a bit of ash and a splinter from the tiny nugget of gold the wood had been warped around.

"Does this belong to you?" she asked Frank.

* * *

Don't forget to drop me a review. It doesn't take a lot to motivate me to keep this story going. My favorite is getting reviews that tell me what your favorite part of the chapter was.


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